Paul St. Germain publishes new book on Cape Ann lighthouses

Paul St. Germain shares a lifetime of knowledge in his recently released book, “Lighthouses and Lifesaving Stations on Cape Ann,” published as part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America Series.

By Jason Brisbois/Wicked Local Gloucester

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

By Jason Brisbois/Wicked Local Gloucester

Posted Jul. 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 14, 2013 at 2:09 PM

By Jason Brisbois/Wicked Local Gloucester

Posted Jul. 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 14, 2013 at 2:09 PM

Rockport

» Social News

Paul St. Germain only needs to look out the window from his home in Rockport to be reminded of the initial inspiration that led to his latest book.

“I’ve been interested in Thacher Island for almost 20 years now,” says the Rockport resident and president of the Thacher Island Association. “I can look out my window and see the island and the two lighthouses; if I look around the bend I can see Straitsmouth Island and its lighthouse. I’ve always had an interest in history, especially maritime history.”

It’s a fascination he has had since he was young, when his father was chief naval architect at the Boston Naval Shipyard during the World War II era and the decade that followed.

“I’ve been able to obtain a lot of maritime and nautical knowledge over the years,” he says.

It’s this knowledge that St. Germain shares in his recently released book, “Lighthouses and Lifesaving Stations on Cape Ann,” published as part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America Series.

The book provides the histories of the lighthouses and lifesaving stations located in the area, and their importance in the rise of protecting area industries from the late 18th century on, including fishing, shipbuilding and granite quarrying. It also covers the actions of the lighthouse keepers and surfmen who manned the lifesaving stations, while giving nods to the inspiration the edifices provided local artists and writers.

Says St. Germain: “You get the reality that Cape Ann over time is made up of five basic industries that all rely on the sea: Fishing, shipbuilding and the granite industry; the subject matter the artists and writers from the area focused on; and the fifth were obviously tourists. Those five factors, that’s what the first chapter is basically about, explaining how each of the industries depended heavily on the seas.

“The subsequent chapters cover the lighthouses and lifesaving stations,” St. Germain continues. “It starts with Ten Pound Island over in Gloucester Harbor, then over to Annisquam, then Straitsmouth, the two towers on Thacher, then the lifesaving stations; there were originally six, but only three exist today.”

The book also features 200 historic images, with a good amount originating from the digital archives at the Cape Ann Museum.

“I spent many days and hours with [Cape Ann Museum Photo Archivist] Fred Buck and his wife Stephanie [Cape Ann Museum Librarian and Archivist] at the museum,” says St. Germain. “They helped me a lot in putting it together, not only in regards to the lighthouses but also the historical background. They were an awesome resource not just for the photos, but for the words and music that goes behind the pictures that are in there.”

“Lighthouses and Lifesaving Stations on Cape Ann” marks the second time St. Germain has covered subject matter of this type; in 2010, Arcadia Publishing released his book, “Twin Lights of Thatcher Island,” and his work on that book, alongside his work with the Town of Rockport’s acquisition and restoration of the Straitsmouth Island Lighthouse, planted the seeds for his current release.

Page 2 of 3 - “By that point, I had done the history covering three of the six lighthouses on Cape Ann,” says St. Germain. “I had a couple of people suggest that I ought to do the other lighthouses.”

Fate intervened as well to push him down this path; St. Germain was instrumental in helping to bring one of the original Fresnel lenses from Thacher Island from the United States Coast Guard Museum in New London, Conn. back to Gloucester a year-and-a-half ago.

“They had it at their museum and then decided to rebuild their museum,” says St. Germain. “They took the lens down and put it in crates and sent it to a warehouse; they weren’t planning to reassemble it and put it back up in the new museum. I got wind of that, called the Coast Guard and said, ‘Is there any chance we can get that lens back to where it started?’”

The lens required a museum environment for housing and display, making the Cape Ann Museum a natural fit. While working with the museum on bringing the lens back to Gloucester, St. Germain spent a lot of time going through the photo archives and doing research. Around August of 2012, he made the decision to move forward in putting the book together.

Next up for the author will be a handful of talks and book signings to promote the new publication. St. Germain will begin that process at Barnes and Noble in Danvers on Aug. 3, before stints at the Rockport Library (in conjunction with Toad Hall Bookstore on Aug. 7), the Cape Ann Museum on Sept. 7 and back to the Rockport Library in October.

“It’s just really a lot of fun,” St. Germain says of the events. “I’ve got three or four scheduled talks and book signings the next few months. I like doing that; I’m putting together a Powerpoint presentation highlighting parts of the book, and putting teasers in there for people.”

With his second book now published, St. Germain admits he has an idea for his third: The collected stories of the lighthouse keepers of Thacher Island over the years.

“We get a ton of people who come to visit in the summer, and I talk to a lot of them on the island,” says the author. “Many are lighthouse buffs, and the ones I find to be most interesting are the people who say they had family who lived there: An uncle, a grandfather or an aunt born or living on Thacher Island. Over the years, I’ve been collecting different stories, and a book on the lighthouse keepers of Thacher Island may be something for down the road.”

For more information on “Lighthouses and Lifesaving Stations on Cape Ann,” visit www.thacherisland.org or arcadiapublishing.com.